Air Conditioners?

[UGAalum94]

Okay this is lame, but I've seen other threads about stuff people needed to buy, so I thought I'd ask.

We're going to have to replace our AC.

What do you know, GreekChat? Tell me about your air conditioning experiences.

[AlwaysSAI]

An SAI sister of mine moved into a rental house last summer and the landlord promised he's install window unit air conditioners in each room. Which he did.

Except, one of the ones he installed was filled with mold and was blowing mold everywhere. It irritated everyone's allergies horribly. After a few weeks though, I guess all the mold came out and there were no more problems.

needless to say, she moved out when the lease was up.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by AlwaysSAI

An SAI sister of mine moved into a rental house last summer and the landlord promised he's install window unit air conditioners in each room. Which he did.

Except, one of the ones he installed was filled with mold and was blowing mold everywhere. It irritated everyone's allergies horribly. After a few weeks though, I guess all the mold came out and there were no more problems.

needless to say, she moved out when the lease was up.

Blech, I'm pretty sure that won't be an issue since we're looking at new central systems, I think.

(In one apartment I lived in during grad. school, I had window units, and I loved it because I could make it unbelievable cold in my room at night. I was really surprised it worked that well.

In the neighborhood I live in now, it would seem trashy to have a window AC, but if I could add one for my bedroom that no one could see, I'd be all over it and crank it down to 60.)

[DeltAlum]

If you can afford to, buy the best you can find.

It will just work better.

You'll be glad you did in the long run.

[Army Wife'79]

Lennox is a great company and makes great a/c's. They have several high end ones with built in "air cleaners/purifiers" in them which really help with allergies and pet fur.

[Kevlar281]

If you can afford to wait, buy one during the fall/winter months.

[UGAalum94]

I think we probably will be able to wait until later.

We will definitely be in the market for an air cleaning one.

Thanks for the info.

[DeltAlum]

Originally Posted by Army Wife'79

Lennox is a great company and makes great a/c's. They have several high end ones with built in "air cleaners/purifiers" in them which really help with allergies and pet fur.

I think Trane, and Carrier (to a slightly lesser extent) also build some good stuff.

I think it's really important to get a really reliable company from which to purchase and to install your equipment. There are a couple of national organizations (I don't remember the names, but you can Google them) that set standards for installers, etc.

What we discovered is that in some new housing developments, companies tend to install sort of generic furnaces and air conditioners which sometimes aren't adequate for the house.

We bit the bullett and had our furnace replaced when we had A/C installed recently, even though it was only five years old. Of course the company that installed all of frunaces in our area as the homes were being built has gone out of business -- which is also fairly typical. The company we used is locally owned and has been around for over forty years.

We ended up with Trane, including an air cleaner and humidifier which is also helpful in our very dry climate.

I liked the bumper sticker on the back of our guy's truck: "It's hard to stop a Trane."

ETA that we also investigated evaporative coolers (Swamp Coolers) which take a fraction of the electricity of an air conditioner and are very ecologically friendly, but do not keep a house as cool as A/C. We would probably have gone that route, but our Covenent Police wouldn't allow it, even though the new ones don't have to be on the roof.

[UGAalum94]

The ridiculously high humidity here would probably rule out a swamp cooler all together, but it seems strange to me that your convents prevent something that probably wouldn't be anymore visible than a regular AC, but maybe they were written in the old days.

Thanks for the help and advice.

[DeltAlum]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

The ridiculously high humidity here would probably rule out a swamp cooler all together, but it seems strange to me that your convents prevent something that probably wouldn't be anymore visible than a regular AC, but maybe they were written in the old days.

Thanks for the help and advice.

You're welcome.

You're very close on the reason for the evaporative cooler was turned down.

The covenants themselves weren't written very long ago, but the guy who runs the committee is a retired contractor (or so he claims), and obviously has no handle on new swamp cooler technology. He didn't believe they didn't have to be on the roof, even when we supplied pictures.

As it turns out, the A/C unit we bought is as tall as the swamp cooler, and as wide but not as deep.

Stupid, but a done deal now. What makes it worse, though, is that a week after our A/C was ordered, we got a note saying that air conditioning and other like devices were no longer covered by the covenants.

[Army Wife'79]

A/C's go on sale mid Sept thru mid Nov. After that it is "prime season" for everyone checking their heaters etc. so they jump up again.

[UGAalum94]

Thank you.

Also, what do you all think about heat pumps?

[Army Wife'79]

Heat pumps are very popular and are great for mild climates. I wouldn't want one in Minnesota when it's 10 below zero! Personally, I like the "feel" of gas heat. It's just more comfortable than electric and your skin doesn't dry out so bad. With electric heat you walk across carpet and constantly get shocked in the winter. Many new houses now have heat pumps and also "gas pacs" on their A/C unit that boost up when the temp gets cold.